Most of the headlines about tech acquisitions these days come from Google and Facebook, but Apple’s been pretty active, too.

The iPhone maker says it has purchased two dozen companies in the past year and a half–though, of course, Apple rarely discloses what exactly it bought or for how much.

Still, Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive, said in an interview Wednesday that Apple’s pace of acquisitions are an indication the company isn’t shy about buying technology it thinks is worthwhile. “Obviously, we’re on the prowl,” he said.

He added that Apple doesn’t have rules about acquisitions, though it tends to stay below $1 billion. “We’re not anti- getting a big company,” he said. “What we’re anti- doing is doing something that’s not strategic.”

In other words, “we’re not looking to pay the most and get the most buzz out of it,” Cook added, during a conversation at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

The obvious comparison is with Google and Facebook, which have actively battled over various companies in unexpected sectors. A recent example is Titan Aerospace, a solar-powered drone company that Google ultimately bought. But that wasn’t before Facebook courted the company.

Part of the reason for this rivalry heating up is that Facebook and Google are starting to crowd into one another’s space. As the WSJ discussed in a story last year, the two companies are vying to become the gateways to the Internet. And as their businesses have started to compete (Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp vs. Google Hangouts, Facebook’s photos vs. Picasa/Google+, etc.) so have their respective acquisition targets.